Today in history: Entangled whale freed off Newport

Published Dec. 22, 2009 at 11:05 a.m.

On the local front:

A year ago today:
The U.S. Coast Guard rescues the crew of the 45-foot sloop Moonshine off Block Island after strong wind and turbulent seas shredded its sails and shut down its auxiliary engine. The wind was measured at 40 knots and the sea was a chilling 42 degrees. Jacob A. Freedman, 27, of East Greenwich, the owner, was the skipper. Also on board were his dad, Michael Freedman, 57, and two others. The group had set sail for Puerto Rico from a marina in East Greenwich.

5 years ago today:
Personnel from the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Mass., succeed in freeing a small humpback whale that was found enmeshed in fishing gear off Newport. The creature could barely move. Fishing lines were wrapped around its tail, anchoring the whale to the bottom of the ocean. The navigator of the tanker Northeast Pilot notified the Coast Guard officials, who called the whale disentanglement team from Provincetown. The whale was small - about 15 feet long, 15 to 20 tons. Its skin was damaged, possibly from the sun or seagulls, as it struggled to stay above the water to breathe. Deep hollows ran along the sides of its spine, where the blubber had wasted away. The whale hadn't eaten in a while, said Scott Landry, a member of the disentanglement team. "I don't think this whale had much longer," he said. "I haven't seen a skinny whale like this in a long time." Working from an inflatable boat, the team used a grappling hook to snag the lines, then cut them hook-shaped knife at the end of a long pole. The whale took off at a high rate of speed.

25 years ago today:
Brown University President Howard R. Swearer rejects the appeals of 57 students found guilty by the university Council on Student Affairs of disrupting a CIA recruiting session on Nov. 26. Some of the students are talking about suing the university to contest their punishments. Swearer's decision means probation and a permanent notation in the transcripts of 56 undergraduates. Further violations of school policy by students on probation could lead to suspension or expulsion. During a CIA recruiters' presentation late last month, about 100 students stood and jointly read a statement accusing the agency of a long list of crimes and attempting, unsuccessfully, to place two recruiters under citizens' arrest.

On the international front:

On this day in 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Washington for a wartime conference with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt.

Photo/ Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
President Franklin D. Roosevelt meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1944...

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